Thursday, April 14, 2016

Russian fighter jets buzz a US warship in the Baltic Sea at a height of just 30 FEET in a 'simulated attack'

Russian fighter jets buzzed a US warship in the Baltic Sea in a 'simulated attack'

Two Russian Su-24 fighter planes thundered over the USS Donald Cook

Jets were just 30ft above the warship in most 'aggressive' move in years

'Simulated attack' maneuver by Russian aircraft created 'wake in the water'

Destroyer was operating in the Baltic Sea, 70 miles from Kaliningrad

The planes were 'wings clean', meaning they were not visibly armed

White House condemned Russia for latest in series of 'concerning' clashes

two
Russian fighter planes buzzed a US warship sailing in the Baltic Sea
last night. The Russian Su-24 planes thundered over the USS Donald Cook
at a height of just 30ft in what a military official branded the most 'aggressive' incident between Russia and the United States
in years. The 'simulated attack' maneuver saw the jets pass so close to
the ocean that they created a 'wake in the water', the defense official
said. The maneuver, at 30ft above the ship's deck, was followed by
seven passes by a Russian KA-27 Helix helicopters, right, taking
pictures of the US vessel.

This
is the dramatic moment two Russian fighter planes buzzed a US warship
conducting a routine training mission in the Baltic Sea last night.

The
Russian Su-24 planes thundered over the USS Donald Cook at a height of
just 30ft in what a military official branded the most 'aggressive'
incident between Russia and the United States in years.
The
'simulated attack' maneuver saw the jets pass so close to the ocean that
they created a 'wake in the water', the defense official said.
The shock move came as a Polish helicopter was taking off from the US Destroyer on Tuesday evening.

Show of force: The Russian Su-24 planes thundered over the USS Donald Cook at a height of just 30ft

The
maneuver was followed by seven passes by a Russian KA-27 Helix
helicopter - designed to take out submarines - taking pictures of the US
vessel.
The American warship was conducting air operations about 70
nautical miles from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad when the
aircraft flew at an 'unsafe' speed close to the Destroyer.
Two close
encounters occurred on Tuesday night in international waters, while
another, at an acceptable distance, happened on Sunday. 'This is more aggressive than anything we've seen in some time,' the defense official said, on condition of anonymity.
The planes were 'wings clean', meaning they were not visibly armed.
A Polish helicopter, which was operating off the ship as part of
routine training, had its flight operations disrupted because of the
Russian actions.
The US warship had been followed by a Russian intelligence-gathering vessel before the incident with the attack aircraft. Crew on USS Cook had contacted sailors on the Russian ship to reassure them they were conducting routine operations.

The
American warship was conducting air operations about 70 nautical miles
from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad when the aircraft (pictured)
flew at an 'unsafe' speed close to the Destroyer

A Russian KA-27 Helix helicopter took pictures of the US vessel as it made seven passes over the Destroyer

While
there are often encounters between US ships and foreign aircraft, this
time officials and crew deemed the movements of the Russian jets unsafe,
due to their speed and proximity to the ship.
The White House
issued a statement condemning Russia for the latest in a series of
'concerning' clashes between the Russian and U.S. militaries.

COLD WAR NAVAL PACT BROKEN?

The
events were reminiscent of the Cold War, when a series of close calls
led to a bilateral agreement aimed at avoiding dangerous interactions at
sea. The deal was signed in 1972 by then-Secretary of the Navy John Warner and Soviet Admiral Sergei Gorshkov.
The agreement prohibited 'simulated attacks against aircraft or ships,
performing aerobatics over ships, or dropping hazardous objects near
them'. The 1972 Incidents at Sea agreement also urged 'the greatest caution' when approaching opposing ships and aircraft.

'This
incident is entirely inconsistent with the professional norms of
militaries operating in proximity to each other in international waters
and international airspace,' Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.
'There have been repeated incidents over the last year where the Russian
military, including Russian military aircraft, have come close enough
to each other or have come close enough to other air and sea traffic to
raise serious safety concerns, and we continue to be concerned about
this behavior.'
The incident came as NATO plans its biggest build-up
in eastern Europe since the Cold War to counter what the alliance, and
in particular the Baltic states and Poland, consider to be a more
aggressive Russia.
The three Baltic states - Estonia, Lithuania and
Latvia - which joined both NATO and the European Union in 2004, have
asked NATO for a permanent presence of battalion-sized deployments of
allied troops in each of their territories. A NATO battalion typically
consists of 300 to 800 troops.

Moscow denies any intention to attack the Baltic states, which were part of the former Soviet Union.The
USS Cook was 70 miles (marked by dotted line) from the Russian enclave
of Kaliningrad. Its exact location has not been released

The
White House issued a statement condemning Russia for the latest in a
series of 'concerning' clashes. Pictured, the two planes flying past the
US warship

The two planes (pictured from the USS Donald Cook) were 'wings clean', meaning they were not visibly armed

The
USS Donald Cook (pictured) was sailing in the Baltic Sea when it was
buzzed by low flying Russian fighter jets at a height of just 30 feet in
'aggressive' passes

USS
Cook has spent much of the last two years in Europe, following its
deployment to the Black Sea in 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea.
While it was stationed there, it was buzzed 12 times by two Russian
Su-24s in a remarkably similar incident to the one on Tuesday.
'The Donald Cook is more than capable of defending itself against two Su-24s,' the Pentagon said at the time.
The US Navy often runs routine training missions through the Baltic
Sea, passing through international waters and those controlled by NATO
members.
It holds a huge annual drill known as BALTOPS, which sees
other allies send ships to the region for what it calls routine
exercises but are seen by military experts as a show of force.
BALTOPS 2015 saw more than 5,000 units from the U.S., the UK, Belgium,
Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Latvia,
Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Turkey conduct
operations in the Baltic Sea, and off the coasts of Sweden and Germany.
Tensions with Russia were further raised earlier this year when the
U.S. announced plans to station six F-15 aircraft in Finland and
artillery in Norway, with both nations sharing a border with Russia.
The U.S. already has fighter planes based in the UK, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Iceland and the Netherlands.

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